The Bracelet
by gettsr
Summary: Sophie decides to let Maddie know that she's leaving the shelter. Takes place during the episode on 3/3/2014.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This takes place during the episode on 3/3/2014. Another chapter is forthcoming but it'd still be very encouraging if you could leave a review.

Sophie had seen it in a shop. It was not Sophie's particular style-she tended towards bright colors and a little flash these days, but this bracelet was darker and simple. It was only 2p, but she knew that the person she wanted to get it for wouldn't care about how much it cost.

Maddie wasn't that kind of girl.

She had been saving it for a special occasion. Maybe as a surprise for Valentine's Day. But now it just sat there and mocked her. The brunette sighed and placed her head in her hands one more time. It had been nearly a month since she had put her heart out on the line. Clearly Maddie wasn't interested. The girl couldn't run off fast enough.

Sophie had to rid herself of the ache in her chest. She'd already lost her dignity in front of Tim and that was bad enough. She had foolishly dragged him all over town to find her. Sophie kept pleading with him "just one more place" at first reasonably enough. But then with each passing moment she'd worked herself more and more into a state. It was embarrassing to her now as she thought back on it. Pathetic, Sophie moaned to herself.

If Jenna had taught her one thing it was that a clean break was the best thing. Now Maddie had just confirmed it.

She supposed that she should feel angry or put out that Maddie had messed her about but Sophie now just felt like moving on. She couldn't say that she was surprised. Nothing ever worked out for her. Sophie Webster always ended up with the wrong end of the stick. Maybe her mum was right, perhaps it was best to be a bit more selfish and act in your own self-interest. It was time that she made a move rather than just sit in limbo. She had to do something-she was waiting on something that was never gonna happen.

So after work she had grabbed an old notebook from six form and started writing. There were several drafts as Sophie struggled with what to say. Some versions were soppy, others cold and distant. Sometimes she started it off with a heart, others with X's, and some with nothing at all. None of them seemed good enough.

Sophie closed her eyes and imagined that Maddie was standing there in front of her. She was lean with her auburn hair pulled back like she always does. The freckles across her nose and cheeks stood out against her pale skin. She was dressed in the same denim jacket and red hoodie that she always wore. None of this was any different than the way that Maddie always looked with only one exception. On her face was that cheeky proud grin, a confidence illuminating her eyes, her carefully constructed defenses struck down for once. It was the look that she had when she told Sophie that she was pretty. It was the face that Sophie saw when she closed her eyes at night.

Now it was the look that Sophie sought to wipe away from her heart.

She finished up the letter and found an envelope for it. Just as she was about to seal it, impulsively she threw in the bracelet. It could be a parting gift she supposed. Looking up at the kitchen clock she realized that she had just finished in time for the bus. Hopefully Maddie wouldn't be there when she got to the shelter.

As she grabbed her jacket she chuckled to herself bitterly. Sophie was kidding herself.

As if Maddie Heath had cared about her at all.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Another side of things. This takes place after 3/3/2014.

She kept the bracelet. She pulled it out of her pocket several times in between taking hits off her voddy bottle. It's true that Maddie had very nearly thrown it into the canal but she always stopped herself. Still every time she pulled it out the ache in her throat got larger.

Maddie had never been flashy or tarty. Even if she had the money for it (which she didn't), she had never seen the appeal of it. She remembered those chavvy girls in school, and had even made out with a few, but never wanted to be a part of any of it. It was hoodies and jeans for Maddie all the way. Still she was a girl underneath it all and she didn't mind lifting some earrings or a wrist band every once in awhile. It was dark and simple and fit Maddie perfectly.

It was exactly the kind of gift that Sophie fucking Webster would give. Even when she was breaking your heart. Of course she hadn't let her see that. Instead she had made a bitchy remark and ran. Again.

Long ago Maddie had learned that it was always better to put up a strong front. Tears never got you anything but a slap. It was better just to toss it off and walk away with your head up. In the community center she had at least held off until she got out of the room.

Swallowing it down, she had skipped the evening meal service and gone straight to George. From George she knew that she could hustle a bottle. Then she had gone straight out to the canal where no one would find her. Staring out at the dark waters, all she could hear was Sophie's soft voice. Even when she was delivering the fatal blow, Sophie had been asking after her with those soft sympathetic eyes. Nobody did that.

Instead of the bracelet, she chucked the voddy bottle straight in with an angry howl. She dropped her head into her hands. So fucking typical that Maddie Heath had blown it with the only girl that had made her feel cared for.

She pulled out the letter, which Sophie had given her and read it again for the millionth time. It started out "Dear Maddie" followed by hearts and x's. Maddie ran her hands over the hearts slowly. She made sure to trace her fingertips over them lightly, as if the slightest pressure would smear them. It was unbearably girly. Just like Sophie she thought dismally.

Maddie had known some dykes before, but Sophie was the first femme one that she had met. Even now she remembered the stylish coat with the collar, leggings, and perfect hair, when they met on the Red Rec. She wasn't a slapper at all. Just unbearably pretty in that real way. And fit. Really fit. She had no idea what a lass like Sophie Webster ever saw in her. But Maddie knew that whatever it was, it was real and terrifying.

If given the opportunity what might start with a kiss could lead to all the rest. Maddie didn't know if she'd be able to control herself around Soph. Maddie had only known drunken fumblings in the dark and that wasn't good enough for Sophie Webster. Not being around her meant that she didn't have to risk making a fool of herself. Because if they got started, Maddie couldn't guarantee that she wouldn't move heaven and earth to make Sophie Webster cry out her name. And if she couldn't do it, then she'd feel shattered.

So Maddie had run away from it. As fast as she could. She had no choice. If she could get some distance between herself, Sophie, and the feelings between them, than maybe they would disappear. When she saw Sophie talking to Eleanor in the shelter today, though, all those feelings came flooding back. Even before she turned around, Maddie knew that it was her. She hadn't changed, except her eyes had a sadness that didn't match the weak smile that she had on her face.

It wasn't the kind of welcome that Maddie had hoped for, but she knew that it was the one that she deserved. Maddie put her head in her hands, and let her front down for just a moment. She silently wept for what she had never let herself have.

Looking up soon enough she heard the stumbling hollerings of some hooligans riled up from football. Pulling herself together she wiped her face with her sleeve and ran underneath a viaduct. She curled herself up in a corner using her jacket for a pillow. As she closed her eyes all she could feel was the soft touch of Sophie Webster's lips.


	3. Chapter 3

As she woke up Maddie immediately regretted falling asleep under the viaduct the night before. The banging in her head from the voddy and the stiffness in her back bore testimony to her poor life choices. She opened up her bag and grabbed a brush out of it. Pulling it through her thin straight hair, she at least wanted to look decent when she made her way to the bathroom down the road at the petrol station. Once she'd worked out a few of the tangles, she scooped it up into her usual ponytail.

She looked down back to her wrist. The bracelet was still wrapped around her wrist. A part of her scolded herself for her soppiness last night. She was being such a girl and it was very unlike her to get so emosh. Yet on the other hand Maddie could not help the feeling that she had to see Sophie Webster again.

She closed her eyes and saw the Brunette standing there in front of her. Her dark brown hair was down, parted to the side. Her heart quickened at the idea of running her hands thru it. It's silky loveliness sliding slowly through her fingers. And Maddie was sure that those jumpers Sophie wore hid a body that was fit. It drove Maddie to distraction staring at those legs.

Looking back at the bracelet around her wrist a smirk formed across her face. It suddenly occurred to her that she had been looking at this in the wrong way. Her chest lightened as everything came into focus. Maybe the bracelet had not been a kiss-off gift. Sophie Webster had given her something, which meant that she had to pay her back. Tit for tat and all.

She had a way in now. She would get this girl.

* * *

As Sophie sat and waited she felt more and more like an idiot. All trussed up like a slapper, she felt even more like the fool as each minute passed. This time she had actually believed her. And that infuriated Sophie even more.

Sophie had not ever been really pursued in this way. She had honestly believed that after Maddie stormed out of the room at the community center that she would never see her again. Maddie Heath was all reaction or avoidance. It put Sophie on the offense, but even when Sophie tried to reach out she was rebuffed. And she was so tired of it.

Sophie Webster had never felt as if she was the girl who turned heads when she walked down the street. That was her sister Rosie. Later on it was Sian. The brunette knew that she was not the most attractive, but she wasn't nothing. And she had a little bit of pride. If Maddie was going to keep messing her about like this, then she needed to make a clean break.

And with the letter and all, she had thought that she had done that. She really had. It had been written with the intention of making a change, because Sophie couldn't stay in limbo. Sophie had lost sleep, wound herself up, and felt her stomach tie itself in knots over this girl. And it had to stop because she had to move forward. Sophie Webster wasn't going to wait anymore.

The push and pull that she felt between them couldn't be denied. But Sophie had to know if she was the only one who felt it. There had been a heat between them. It was different than what she had felt with Jenna. It was combustible. If Maddie would just allow her to…well Sophie would burn the girl's world down. However she did not seem able to bust through, and it hurt. Inside her chest.

If Jenna had taught her anything it was that a clean break was the best idea. So she had tried.

Really tried.

Damn Maddie Heath for showing up in her shop.

It was the damndest thing to see the woman standing there. Just that fact had thrown Sophie for six. She noticed that Maddie was a bit more cleaned up then usual. She still wore the same hoodie, jeans, and jacket that Sophie had gotten used to seeing her in. In fact Sophie wondered if she had any other clothes. Sophie was pretty dumbstruck to see the girl was in her village. It made Sophie speechless-which was rare.

And that's when Maddie flashed that look and Soph was gone. Just dead gone.

They were done talking.

And yet here she was sitting here like a daft chump and a dress that wasn't hers. She checked her phone.

20 minutes. No messages.

Sophie was done.

* * *

Maddie wouldn't let them take it. Even when she had felt her wrist twist a way that it shouldn't. After they had left her in the alley she slowly moved it off and put it in her pocket. She knew that her wrist was going to swell and she'd be damned if she was going to let the NHS cut it off.

She had been running late as it is having missed the bus to where her and Sophie had agreed to meet. Also to her own embarrassment she had spent far too much time cleaning herself up. It wasn't like Maddie was a complete scuzz but living on her own meant that she rarely went beyond the basics. Tonight was different though so she had got a mate to loan her the bathroom in her flat for a while. Even bothered to wash her hair and let her down. It was different from her usual pony-tail but Sophie had never seen her hair down before. It'd be a surprise.

Still she had taken too long and now she was proper flustered. She had to show Sophie that she was worth trusting and being late wasn't going to help. It was probably why she hadn't seen them coming.

Getting jumped wasn't new for her. It'd happened before but this was the first time that she had begged them to just let her go. Then she fought back and got a smack to the face for her trouble. She turned herself over in the alley and started making an assessment of her body. After getting whacked in the face, they'd kicked her a few times. She felt a searing white-hot pain every time she inhaled. Still she had to get up and push thru it.

Sophie had to know that she hadn't been messing with her. And honestly where else did Maddie Heath have to go?


End file.
